Mississippi Dreamers’ Muralshop
2022 Mid-Career Project Grantee | $10,000
Mississippi Dreamers’ Muralshop
This mural concept is inspired by the incredible diversity of Minneapolis and Saint Paul’s communities. On view at Conway Community Center in Saint Paul, the mural represents all the people blessed by the Mississippi river and its environment. Inspired by the incredible diversity of local communities, the project was painted with youth, who were offered a free workshop from Mississippi Dreamers’ Muralshop. The workshop covered techniques that lead to community-based urban artwork, and what it means to truly work with communities in ways that empower and revitalize their cultures.
Tomas Araya is a multimedia artist whose work centers around storytelling, decolonization, nature & environmental awareness. Making artwork that praises mother nature and indigenous traditions in a powerful but humbling, mystical way has always been their artistic dream. Araya’s main medium is visual arts: murals, sculptures, watercolors, comic books and digital illustrations such as logos, interior and architectural designs. They are a proud descendant of the Diaguita tribes, far down south in the valleys of the Andes Mountains. The artist started their artistic career in Chile, the country where they were born, with watercolor and sculpture exhibitions. Now based in the Twin cities since 2017, they have been part of several public art and community art projects like murals, sculpture installations and community workshops. As a teaching artist Araya believes that when you believe in something, you create it.
Tomás Araya (Aratti) was also a Forecast 2024 Mid-Career Project Grantee.
The McKnight Foundation generously enables Forecast to provide Professional Development Grants for mid-career artists seeking to expand their work in the field of public art. Forecast mid- and early-career grants are designed to support independent projects, leadership development, professional development, risk-taking, multidisciplinary approaches, and collaborative problem-solving in the field of public art.
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